Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Firstly, it is important to note that the Department of Finance does not hold any supervisory or investigative role in relation to fraud which is a criminal offence and, as such falls, under the remit of the Minister for Justice.

However, my Department does have a key role in developing policy and legislation to ensure that Ireland’s framework for combating both money laundering and the financing of terrorism adheres to EU and international standards.

The nature of this policy area requires a whole-of-Government approach. Accordingly, the Department of Finance chairs the Government’s Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee or AMLSC. The purpose of the AMLSC is to provide a national, cross-sectoral forum for the oversight and active review of Ireland’s framework for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, or AML/CFT. Membership of the AMLSC consists of a range of bodies, including:

• Government Departments, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment;

• State bodies including An Garda Síochána, the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Central Bank of Ireland; and

• Supervisors including designated accountancy bodies and the Law Society of Ireland

Details of the AMLSC are available: gov.ie - Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (www.gov.ie)

As you may be aware, political agreement was recently reached in Brussels in respect of the new EU AML ‘Rule Book’. However, formal agreement on the package, including the actual text, remains to be agreed by all Member States. Following agreement of the new EU AML package, officials will consider what further amendments to domestic legislation in this regard may be required as part of the required transposition process.